mandag 29. februar 2016

I love strong female characters and being Norwegian I have always loved the Norse Mythology sagas. Even though Marvel's Thor is very different from the stories I grew up with, it is still a cool universe. So I want to make Lady Sif based on the design from the movie Thor the dark world with a hint a the comic book style, and a few details of my own.

I used this project to try out new ways of working with worbla, including black worbla and laser cutting worbla. ;)Chest pieceThe base build is very much like how I made my Vi chest piece. Then I added several detail in layers to create more details. This was my first encounter with black worbla, read more about that here. I must say I prefer the "normal" kind better, I feel it glued itself to itself better ;)

Testing out how to make details with black worbla by hand.

Black and normal worbla mixes well.

Mostly because I had to wait for the weather to get warm enough for spray painting outside, I tested the limits of the laser cutter and worbla. More on how to do that in this post.

The paint job for the first iteration was just silver base paint and a black acrylic paint wash for weathering. Then I added a little black dry brushing to create more grit and depth. Silver markers were used to create highlights. And lastly for the laser cut details I used a mix between bronze dry brushing and gold marker. This is basically how I did the paint job for all of the armor parts :)

PauldronsI wanted pauldrons, because reasons. I started with a double layers of worbla and stretched it over an acrylic sphere.

To not get it completely dome shaped it reshaped it narrower by hand and added the lower piece.

First laser cut test. All the files I used for worbla details were actually files I already had made for the sword, just scaled differently. I'm even recycling my digital files here ;)

With a flat tool I pressed down sections of the worbla to create more dimension.

Dimensions vs flat

BeltI already knew I wanted a red corset and skirt and to break up the monotone color I wanted to add a belt (inspired from the movie version). This was made basically from strips of foam covered in worbla and then shaped around my hips.

Smaller armor parts hang from the belt, but I can take them off If I feel like wearing a simpler costume someday.

This looks a bit more graceful while on my body :p

Bracers and grieves.Sadly I have no wip photos of the bracers and leg bracers. But here are the finished ones ;)

Head pieceIn the comic books Lady Sif wears a Valkyrie inspired headpiece and I think it looks very iconic.

I started with a flat pattern in foam covered in worbla (both sides). When warm I shaped it after my head.

The wings were created by cutting directly in the worbla and foam and separating them slightly.

Every edge were covered with a strip of worbla.

Again I had to wait to better weather and I had the files at hand, so more laser cutting was needed ;)

I think I want to more contrast with golden accents to break up the silver.

CorsetWas done in the beginning of 2015, because I needed a corset for my Qunari and i used it for my Sea Mage later. Points for double usage.

As I got addicted to embroidery the corset was not safe from my needle.

BoleroThe movie version of Sif wears a bolero jacket which could work as a anchor point for the pauldrons.

It was really hard to create a good fit for this jacket. Luckily for me I didn't have to follow a reference photo. SkirtAnd of course I wanted a roman warrior style skirt. Sewn out of the same red pleather as the corset and bolero, and lined with red canvas.

And this is where the embroidery mania started

The completed skirt is made in two parts and laced in the sides.

SwordAh, the sword. Laser cut from plywood

And this is where I made the vector file for the laser cut parts in the first place.

Details added to the sword.

The sword was primed and sanded. I still want to go over it and sand it a little more and do a whole new repaint... when I get the time.

Silver paint

Quick and dirty canvas wrap for the handle, pleather next up.

And here are a few photos from the visit to the Children's ward at Rikshospitalet in Oslo. A few cosplayers were invited to dress up as superheroes and entertain the children. Which was the reason I hurried up to finish this cosplay ;)

All about me:

Hello, I’m Christina also known as Chrix Design. I’m a software tester by day, costume maker by night. Most of my life I have been a little "know it all" and very creative. This evolved into me being a science nerd as a child as well as I sewed my own Barbie clothes. In the end I got a Master’s degree in Industrial design engineering. My childhood was also full of video games and my first prop came together mainly because I wanted a Portal Gun over my fireplace. I exploited every occasion to dress up and loved making more and more original costumes. It wasn't until 2011 I heard about cosplay, where had it been all my life! I got so many friends with the same passions for games, costumes, craft and books as me. After this I had no more spare time, there was always a costume to build a tutorial to write and new friends to meet. But I won’t say no to a round of Halo, an evening of board games or watching old Disney movies.
You can contact me at chrix.design.props@gmail.com or via my facebook page.